1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing personal safety enhancement for telecommunication.
2. Background of the Invention
The widespread use of the wireless telephones in the United States has prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate new rules related to emergency call processing. The FCC""s wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) rules require certain Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) carriers to begin transmission of enhanced location and identity information in two phases. The first phase, started on Apr. 1, 1998, required wireless service providers to transmit a 911 caller""s number and section of the cell site from which the call is originated to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The second phase, starting on Oct. 31, 2001, requires all wireless service providers to locate two-thirds of all 911 callers within 125 meters of their physical locations. In other words, for all 911 calls received, a PSAP must be able to pinpoint 67% of the callers within 125 meters.
Under the FCC rules, wireless communication networks and wireless telephones (or any wireless devices that can be used to call 911), must provide both the identity and location of the caller to a 911 dispatcher. To provide a caller""s identity, the wireless device must furnish a device identification, e.g., a mobile identification number (MIN), indicating in most instances the telephone number of the device. To provide a caller""s location, the wireless communication networks and wireless devices will use a network-based location system or a handheld location system installed within the wireless devices, or a combination of the two systems. An example of a handheld location system is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,734, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a GPS receiver and a method for processing GPS signals.
The contemplated E911 location technology will enable the PSAP to know the location of the wireless telephone at the time the 911 call is established. However, the caller must still physically dial the number. The current technology does not provide a wireless device that can be used to report an emergency situation, without requiring the user to actually dial the number or press at least one key on a keypad of the wireless device. No existing wireless device can dial 911 automatically when its user is in an emergency situation.
The present invention enables an emergency situation to be reported to a called party automatically when a recognizable speech segment is received by a communication device of the present invention. The present invention leads to increased safety for members of the community.
The following scenario provides a specific example of how a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. While in the parking lot of a university campus one evening, a young student is attacked by a criminal. As she is being attacked, she says or yells, xe2x80x9cHELPxe2x80x9d. Since her wireless telephone had been previously programmed to recognize her voice saying or yelling xe2x80x9cHELPxe2x80x9d, the wireless telephone automatically dials the number 911 and establishes a wireless communication session with a PSAP. A location system associated with the wireless telephone then generates location information pinpointing the location of the wireless telephone. The location information is provided to the PSAP. At the PSAP, a trained 911 operator can listen for clues to determine whether one or more of the police, paramedics, and fire fighters should be dispatched. Using the present invention, an emergency response unit can assist the student sooner than if the student was required to dial 911 herself, assuming she remembered or had the opportunity to dial that number.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is a wireless device. The wireless device may be any apparatus with telecommunication and E911 capabilities. For example, the wireless device may be a wireless telephone, an interactive pager, a handheld computer, or a personal digital assistant. As it would be apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art, the present invention can be adapted to operate on non-wireless communication devices, such as a wireline telephone.
A wireless device of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a microprocessor, a speech recognition module, a location system, a microphone, and a memory. A second preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises additional features, including an orientation detector.
A preferred method for using the present invention comprises the following steps. First, a relationship between a telephone number (the called number) associated with a called party and a speech segment is created and stored in the memory of the wireless device. The speech segment is preferably spoken by a person who carries and uses the wireless device on a regular basis. The speech segment may also be non-speaker-specific. Second, when the wireless device receives the speech segment, it retrieves the called number and establishes a communication session with the called party. Third, a location system associated with the wireless device generates location information pinpointing the location of the wireless device and provides the location information to the called party. The location system can be an integral part of the wireless device or a network based component. Fourth, the called party can use the location information to perform an action. The action may be, for example, dispatching an emergency response unit to the location pinpointed by the location information.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for reporting an emergency situation to a called party without requiring the calling party to actually dial the called party""s number.
It is another object of the present invention to provide prompt response to a user of the present invention without requiring the user to dial any number.
It is another object of the present invention to enable spontaneous transmission of location information to a called party when a user of the present invention is in distress.
These and other objects of the present invention are described in greater detail in the detailed description of the invention, the appended drawings, and the attached claims.